Wayne Simmonds doesn’t have to wear his Philadelphia Flyers sweater to be a difference maker. A second straight 30-goal season, four game-winning tallies, and MVP honours at the NHL All-Star Game – the Wayne Train was rolling in 2016-17.

The thought of being traded was strange for Valtteri Filppula, who had never been a part of a swap over his 12-year NHL career. Filppula spoke with a former Detroit teammate, and another Finn, who both spoke glowingly of the Philadelphia Flyers organization as he compiled a 16-team list of destinations.

The Scarborough, Ontario native helped his Philadelphia Flyers to back-to-back wins by scoring his team-leading 21st goal before heading to his first All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where he earned MVP on Sunday.